Hakafot Shniyot Brings Thousands to Tomb of Machpela

The post-Simchat Torah celebrations brought late-night song and dance.

25.10.16, 17:24

Thousands gathered in the Hall of Abraham & Sarah and Hall of Jacob & Leah at the Tomb of Machpela in Hebron to celebrate the end of Simchat Torah in Israel and participate in a festive post-Simchat Torah hakafot. The crowds danced and sang with the Torah scrolls. Young and old grasped hands, and danced in circles as musicians played traditional melodies. Many Torah scrolls, decorated in both Sephardic and Ashkenazic styles were paraded around the hall. Children sat atop their parents shoulders and the crowd joined in.

Hakafot Shniyot wraps up the High Holiday season which saw tens of thousands of visitors to the holy city. 30,000 people came to the annual Succot music festival. 10,000 people attended the Sarit Hadad concert and women's gathering. 10,000 came to the Rosh Hodesh Elul celebrations. And thousands attended services for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.

The Tomb of Machpela is the 2,000-year-old edifice built by King Herod the Great to memorialize the Cave of Machpela. Under the massive walls, the double caves house the resting place of the founding fathers and mothers of the Abrahamic faiths: Abraham & Sarah, Isaac & Rebecca and Sarah and Leah.

The Jewish Community of Hebron would like to thank the local organizers, IDF, police, rabbis and all who helped make this year's High Holidays a special time.

The next big event is the annual Shabbat Hebron held of Parshat Chayei Sarah the weekend of November 25th.
For the first time since 2005, Shabbat Hebron will fall out on Thanksgiving weekend. This does not happen again until the year 2027.